On the Water Trail is a six-part series that explores the science of the St. Louis River Watershed. Host Emily Lockling, student researcher from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, introduces the people who are working to improve the waterway after decades of dumping sewage and other legacy contamination.

Episode 1: Exploring the St. Louis River Mystery
Why is the estuary significant? When was it at its worst? How did we know it was in bad shape?

Episode 2: US Steel/Spirit Lake Remediation Efforts
Remediation: What does it mean? Three common approaches to site remediation.

Episode 3: Western Lake Superior Sanitary District
Human and industrial waste was a major factor in the early contamination of the estuary before environmental laws existed.

Episode 4: Mercury Mystery
Why can’t we eat the fish, and will it ever be safe?

Episode 5: Restoring Sturgeon to the Upper St. Louis River
Mystery: How will sturgeon survive another millennium in the St. Louis River?

Episode 6: Buried in the Bay
The logging boom in the early 1900s fueled the expansion of communities along the river and left bays filled with layers of debris from logging and sawmills.